Glamorgan refused permission to land Iftikhar

The Pakistan board has decided against allowing Iftikhar Anjum, the medium-fast bowler, to join Glamorgan after the county showed an interest in signing him up as their overseas player for 2008.

"We have told them [Glamorgan] that Pakistan have a busy international season coming up and cannot afford to release any of their players from the core squad," Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's chief operating officer, told the News.

Pakistan are due to host Australia in March and April next year for a Test and ODI series before hosting the Asia Cup in June and according to Naghmi, Pakistan will be needing Iftikhar's services throughout.

The PCB is also reluctant to allow a fit fast bowler play for a county with most of the national team's bowling line-up on the injured list. Mohammad Asif has just undergone an elbow operation, Umar Gul is recovering from back spasm that ruled him out of the Test series against India while Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami were both below par due to illness during the tour to India.

There are reports, however, that Glamorgan have agreed terms with Iftikhar's agent and are prepared to wait until March for a final decision by the PCB before following up other potential targets.

If the deal goes through, Iftikhar will be the first Pakistan player to sign for the county since Waqar Younis over a decade ago. He has made 39 ODI appearances and taken 42 wickets with an economy-rate of under five an over. Iftikhar last featured for Pakistan in the ODI series against India before being surplus to requirements for the Test series. A spate of injuries and illness, however, prompted the PCB to send Iftikhar back to India as cover for the other fast bowlers ahead of the final Test in Bangalore, which he didn't play.